Folks, I can't express how great it was to meet you all!!!!
The whole evening was as much an adventure for us here in Vancouver as it was for those from far and wide! Although I'd been to many events at the Waldorf years ago, I'd forgotten just how beautiful a place it really is.
Sabina, your photos are fabulous! I don't think the Waldorf has ever been so well documented before last night!! I know there are more photos out there (the flashes were continuous) and I hope you guys will post them! Did anyone get a photo of the shrine to the owner?
If any event can attract a group people like this, it's worth every bit of work to make it happen. I sincerely hope this is the first of many Vancouver Tiki events if it means we can all get together again!!!

P.S.
Selector Lopaka & Tikiwahine, I'm enjoying a fine Rum drink in my peanut mug while listening to some incredible music as I type this. Tiki-Riviera, glad to know you made it home safely!

Wow, what a blast ! Thank you thank you so much to all the TC ohana in Canada for such a fantastic welcome, what a great weekend. Many thanks to Pepe le Tiki and Alan at Funhauser for hosting such a great pre-Waldorf gathering. We were glad to meet Dan and Reid of Taboo Tiki, and get one of their great framed Waldorf tributes, as well as the great big moai that we went back for on Sunday before we left. It was great to see more of Travellin' Tiki's work and RodeoTiki's work as well. The folks at Raglans did a fine job accomodating all of us for dinner and drinks , thanks to Sabina and Oaktiki for the afternoon Rum tasting, and everyone who gathered for the event itself. It was so great to see familiar faces and meet many folks that we hadn't met yet. Having the chance to hang out in the Tahitian Lounge and see Lushy and the Buttersprites was great, and then to view all the rooms downstairs at the Waldorf was really something... It was like being a kid in a candy store. Many thanks to the management to let us spend some time viewing the rooms, I know we sure were an appreciative crowd.

The Polynesian Room is amazingly well preserved, and the amount of detail and quality of the elements that went into the decor was just such a visual treat to take in....the shape of the palm trees, the terrific Savage mural, the doors to the ladies room that just perfectly blended into the rest of the lauhala wall, you barely knew that was the door to the bathroom. The tiny little bar as you enter the Polynesian Room, the Leeteg that was tucked away in the Menehune Room, the carved Menehune support posts, the doors the the Menehune Room ... the list goes on and on. At one point I was taking a photo of the coat check area, and I had no idea what I was looking at as it was dark in that particular area. It wasn't until I got home and looked at the photos that I saw what it really looked like ! The mural behind the bar in the hallway just before the Menehune room was really something, as well as the menus which were on the wall ( I hadn't seen that particular Leeteg painting used for their menus). I could ramble on and on about it all.

One of the things that really struck me was the personal displays in the Menehune Room, which celebrated the life of the owner of the Waldorf, who just recently passed away. He had started out as a chef, then took over as owner in the 60's, I believe. The wake had been held in the Menehune Room, where there were still flowers and many display items commemorating his life. It was really something to see.

I'm so glad that Sabina & Oaktiki's photos turned out so great ! A bunch of mine were pretty grainy, but here's a few from the night :

Oaktiki & Sabina at Funhauser:

Reid of Taboo Tiki with the moai he carved :

Selector Lopaka and Leeteg in the Tahitian Lounge:

At the top of the stairs to the Polynesian Room:

Polynesian Room:

Bar beside the Polynesian Room:

Polynesian Room menus:

More Polynesian Room:

Doors the Menehune Room:

Menehune Room:

Coat Check :

And a few photos of the tiki and its transition to its new home, along with the Waldorf piece that is now hanging just above the moai in the last photo:

We really look forward to another event in Vancouver, and here's to another future gathering at the Waldorf !

I really enjoyed finally meeting so many great folks, and seeing all the familiar faces once again.
I'm just finally getting back to normal mode, realizing that once again I didn't have nearly enough time to chat with everyone, which means more events are in order!

Super big thank you to Peter(Pepe le Tiki) and Allan for throwing themselves head first into our very first event, it turned out to be so much more than was ever imagined.

Also Mucho Mahaloz must go to Elicia(Dogbytes) & Todd for carting my giant coconut, complete with giant straw, all the way through the tunnel, I mean border.
I had an interesting time with it on the ferry, and it's already planted up with a Tasmanian Tree Fern!

I can't wait for another excuse to get over to Vancouver, you can guarantee I'll be there for the next shindig.

I want to start off by thanking Dogbytes and her DH for inviting me to roadtrip with them out of Seattle to Vancouver...they were the most gracious and fun travel companions. Many thanks to both of them. The drive up whizzed by (we decided not to use the tunnel) as we chatted up a storm and before you knew it we were checking into The Sandman. After a quick snack at Moxie's Grill we walked over to Funhauser and met Pepe Le Tiki who was very peppy even though I liked referring to him as Pay Pay.

He and Alan hosted the perfect private party for us complete with garnished cocktails and rum...mahalo again for the spoilage!! The store was indeed fun and I think virtually everyone pay payed Pepe (that's a mouthful) before they left toting at least one goodie. I picked up another print from Heather Watts (Travellin' Tiki) who was already there and it was a treat to reunite with her again.

Title: Come and get your lei

I also got a fez wearin' monkey tiki mug despite the fact that I'm currently in the process of temporarily packing up my mugs.

Met some new local artists at Funhauser too: the duo of Taboo Dan and Reido and found out their story...they are very talented guys and some lucky TCer's went home with some of their work. You know who you are.

Finally it was time to get ready for dinner and back to The Sandman we ventured for a quick change of clothes. Tikiwahine, Dogbytes and Mr. DB and I walked to catch the Skytrain (where was the "sky" part?) was the great debate and then we caught the Seabus (was it really a "bus? looked like a ferry to us) and more debating continued. Good thing Seamus wasn't with us or it would have been very confusing.

Soon we were in North Vancouver and after some dangerous prancing over a boardwalk in heels (I told Mr. Dogbytes he should have worn flats) we arrived safely to Raglan's which was already packed. Got to meet some more TC'ers and Sweet Daddy Tiki took control of the room by singing in Italian operatta then forced us to individually out ourselves with our Tiki Central names:

Thanks to everyone at Raglan's who made the evening a success and to all the Canadian planners--you did a fantastic job.

Then to fulfill Rodeo's dreams of being on every type of transportation known to man in one day, we all got on a bus for a ride to our final destination: (bring in chorus of angelic type music) The Waldorf.

The Waldorf was...amazing. See everyone else's photos. I enjoyed seeing Lushy perform again and I found out the Dogbytes has some sort of secret nurse fantasy when the Buttersprites came on. (???) We were so lucky to be a part of the private tour downstairs and the memorial corner was sad, but still inspiring because the owner of The Waldorf brought happiness to so many people and continues to do so even though he has passed on.

Later we cabbed it back to The Sandman where an after hours party hosted by the dynamic duo of Slacks Ferret and Sweet Daddy Tiki brought out typical Canadian behavior:

Dogbytes enables Tikiwahine to try new things with her coconut:

Thanks again SDT for letting me share your pillow AND your journal. *wink wink* (that really means nothing...don't even try to figure it out). I swear I'm not usually that comatose at that hour...but too many days of not enough sleep had finally caught up with me.

The next day the same after hours partiers (Dogbytes, Mr. DB, Tikiwahine, Slacks Ferret, Sweet Daddy Tiki and Exoticat) headed for brunch at a place with a "z" in the middle of the name (this is how it was described to me when I asked where we were going). If you ask me, I think we're in Venice:

This is where sadly the Americans and the Canadians had to do their final parting and hugging until the next get together. Those suffering the greatest depression probably won't be able to post for a couple more days. (Look to see who still hasn't checked in.)

Thanks to *everyone* who made the night so much fun (even you Rodeo)! There were lots of people I wish I had more time to chat with like Velvet Ruby (who looked like the ultimate 50's pinup blond) and I finally found out what the mysterious Tiki Riviera looks like! Finally, special thanks to Puamana for posting the event in the first place! xo

p.s. I did find Macintosh toffee in the nick of time at the border...
(I really did try to keep this review of the event short, I swear!)

p.p.s. Sabina...your pics are incredible..thanks for sharing with us and sorry I got in the way of so many of them! *gulp*

Everything that should be said has already been said.. so I'll just add my hearty, "ditto!"

So great to meet everyone.. wish I could have spent some more time talking with you all.. (it's hard when you're shy and overwhelmed by your surroundings!)... thanks again to our Funhauser support crew who showed off their true "event planning" colours! (I'll add my "hell yeah!" to the annual event chorus..)

All my photos suck in comparison to the ones already posted.. I did find one of Lushy which turned out pretty nicely .. (holy crapolee, what a kick ass auditory / sensory experience THAT was!)

Counting down the days until the next time we all meet..

J

_________________"Someone put the Whammy in the Gizmo and look what happened!" ~ Piano Slim

Pepe...here's those Shrine photos you requested. My camera was new and I didn't have a chance to even test it so I picked up some weird lighting at times because I just shot using it on the settings it came with. *sigh* Now I know that I have a special night mode setting...wish I'd known that while in the Tahitian Twilight Lounge.

Thanks Exoticat!! Hey, at least you took pictures, my camera stayed in my pocket, I'm so bad for that!! But thankfully everyone's photos are great, I think I've looked at all of them at least twice a day so far...remembering the good times!
I found the tribute sad yet fascinating to see his life in pictures and his connection to the Waldorf. The manager told me that he helped out in the kitchen and behind the bar right up to a few months before he passed away. He loved the Waldorf and was very involved in the operation and was well liked by the staff. He said they're not ready to take the tribute down yet.
Oh, to have had a conversation with him!!!

Well I finally made it home Wednesday night after a couple of extra days in Calgary. Thanks Slacks & Tiki A. Moaikingbird for putting me up (putting up with me?)

Exoticat, I loved your account of events. I didn't know I could sing opera, but apparently I can – the photographic evidence proves it.

Great pictures everyone. I'm still learning my digital camera & I haven't mastered the art of low light and flash photography with it yet, so many of my pictures from the Waldorf turned out crappy. I'm going to post some galleries later, but in the meantime, here's a few snaps i like.

Leaving Calgary Friday evening. My shirt was a gift from Slacks (there are Tikis around the bottom). Somehow Mrs. Ferret managed to take a flattering picture of me (less chins than usual).

Ever on the lookout for tropical plants that will survive a brutal Calgary winter, Slacks "examines" a Cana Tropicana (as identified by Tikiwahine) at the Travelodge in Kamloops. What a great thrifting town. We hit up about 8 thrift stores on Saturday morning. Slacks was pumped to find an Outrigger pineapple mug for 2 bucks. I bought a few things including a paint-by-number and some china from a defunct airline (I'll be posting in Tiki Finds and Beyond Tiki Finds in the next few days).

We arrived in Vancouver too late to partake in the reception at Funhauser. Bummed to miss an opportunity for free rum!

Down the hatch! Glad I got liquored up on Mojitos and Blue Hawaiians at Raglan's because the bar service at the Waldorf wasn't all it could be.